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manufacture, or sale of any article of domestic growth, production, or manufacture; or in the importation or sale of any article of domestic growth, production, or manufacture; or in the importation or sale of any article grown, produced, or manufactured in any other state or country; or which are designated or tend to fix, regulate, limit, or reduce the price of any article of growth, production, or manufacture; or which are designed or tend in any way to create a monopoly, are hereby declared to be unlawful, against public policy, and void.

§ 2. That all persons entering into or continuing with any trust, pool, contract, arrangement, agreement, or combination, either in his own account, or as agent or attorney for another company or as an officer, agent, or stockholder of any corporation, or in any capacity whatever, shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) nor more (than) five thousand dollars ($5,000), and imprisoned in the penitentiary not less than one (1) year nor more than five (5) years.

§ 3. That all persons and corporations and the officers and the stockholders of all corporations that shall become or continue to be members of, or in any way connected with, or concerned in any such trust, contract, agreement or combination, shall be jointly and severally liable to pay all the debts, obligations and liabilities of each and every person and corporation that may become or continue a member thereof, connected therewith, or concerned therein, as fully as if all were partners in the creation of such debts, obligations and liabilities.

§ 4. That if any corporation organized under the laws this state, or any officer or stockholder thereof, as such, shall become or continue to be a member of any such trust, pool, contract, agreement, arrangement, or combination, its charter shall become and be hereby forfeited; and it shall be the duty of the attorney-general of the county where the same is located or having its principal office, to bring suit against such corporation in the circuit court of such county, to have its said charter declared forfeited for that reason, and to wind up the same under the order of such courts.

§ 5. That when action at law or suit in equity shall be commenced in any court of this state, it shall be lawful, in the defense thereof, to plead in bar or in abatement of the action that the plaintiff or any other person or corporation inter

ested in the prosecution of the action is a member or connected with, and the cause of action grows out of, some business or transaction with such trust, pool, contract, agreement, arrangement, or combination, as described in the first section. of this act.

§ 6. That any person or corporation injured or damaged by any such trust, pool, contract, agreement, arrangement, or combination may sue and recover fines in any court of competent jurisdiction, double the amount of damages suffered by such person or corporation.

§ 7. That upon the trial of any civil action against any corporation, person, or copartnership for a violation of any section of this act, all officers, stockholders, and agents of such corporation, person, or copartnership shall be competent witnesses against the defendant, as such, on trial; and such officers, stockholders, and agents may be compelled to testify against such defendant, and produce all books and papers in their custody or control pertinent to the issues in such action at or before the time of trial, and shall not be excused from producing any books or papers because the same might tend to criminate such witnesses; but nothing which such witness shall testify to, and no books or papers produced by him, shall in any manner be used against him in any criminal action to which he is a party.

§ 8. That all acts and part of acts of the general assembly of the state of Tennessee in conflict with this act be, and the same are hereby, repealed.

Approved March 30, 1891.

LAWS OF 1897, CHAP. 93.

AN ACT to prohibit conspiracies or agreements to limit the output of coal in this State, or to raise the price of coal to the consumer, or to any intermediate dealer.

§ 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee, That any person who, directly or indirectly, enters into a conspiracy or agreement with intent to limit the output of coal in this State for the purpose of raising the price of coal to the consumer, or to any intermediate dealer, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction, fined not less than one thousand dollars.

§ 2. Be it further enacted, That all laws and parts of laws inconsistent with this Act, be and the same are hereby repealed.

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§ 3. Be it further enacted, That this Act take effect from and after its passage, the public welfare requiring it.

Passed April 10, 1897.

Approved April 30, 1897.

LAWS OF 1897, CHAP 94.

AN ACT to declare unlawful and void all arrangements and contracts, agreements, trusts or combinations made with a view to lessen or which tend to lessen free competition in the importation or sale of articles imported into this State; or in the manufacture or sale of articles of domestic growth or of domestic raw material; to declare unlawful and void all arrangements, contracts, agreements, trusts or combinations between persons or corporations designed, or which tend to advance, reduce or control the price of such product or articles to producer or consumer of any such product or article; to provide for forfeiture of the charter and franchise of any corporation, organized under the laws of this State, violating any of the provisions of this Act; to prohibit every foreign corporation violating any of the provisions of this Act from doing business in this State; to require the Attorney-General of this State to institute legal proceedings against any such corporations violating the provisions of this Act, and to enforce the penalties prescribed; to prescribe penalties for any violation of this Act; to authorize any person or corporation damaged by any such trust, agreement or combination, to sue for the recovery of such damages, and for other purposes.

§ 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That from and after the passage of this Act, all arrangements, contracts, agreements, trusts or combinations between persons or corporations made with a view to lessen, or which tend to lessen, full and free competition in the importation or sale of articles imported into this State, or in the manufacture or sale of articles of domestic growth or of domestic raw material, and all arrangements, contracts, agreements, trusts or combinations between persons or comporations designed, or which tend, to advance, reduce or control the price or the cost to the producer or to the consumer of any such product or article, are hereby declared to be against public policy, unlawful and void.

§ 2. Be it further enacted, That any corporation chartered under the laws of the State which shall violate any of the provisions of this Act, shall thereby forfeit its charter and its franchise, and its corporate existence shall thereupon cease

and determine. Every foreign corporation, which shall violate any of the provisions of this Act, is hereby denied the right to do, and is prohibited from doing, business in this State. It is hereby made the duty of the Attorney-General of this State to enforce the provisions by due process of law. § 3. Be it further enacted, That any violation of the provisions of this Act shall be deemed, and is hereby declared to be, destructive of full and free competition and a conspiracy against trade, and any person or persons who may engage in any such conspiracy, or who shall, as principal, manager, director or agent, or in any other capacity, knowingly carry out any of the stipulations, purposes, prices, rates, or orders made in furtherance of such conspiracy, shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars or more than five thousand dollars, and by imprisonment in the penitentiary not less than one year nor more than ten years; or in the judgment of the court, by either such fine or imprisonment.

§ 4. Be it further enacted, That the provisions of this Act shall not apply to agricultural products or live stock while in the possession of the producer or raiser.

$5. Be it further enacted, That any person or persons or corporation that may be injured or damaged by any such arrangement, contract, agreement, trust or combination, described in Section 1 of this Act, may sue for, and recover, in any court of competent jurisdiction in this State, of any person or persons or corporation operating such trust or combination, the full consideration or sum paid by him or them for any goods, wares, merchandise, or articles, the sale of which is controlled by such combination or trust.

§ 6. Be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the Judge of the Circuit and Criminal Courts of this State especially to instruct grand juries as to the provisions of this Act.

§ 7. Be it further enacted, That all laws and parts of laws in conflict with the provisions of this Act be and the same are hereby repealed.

§ 8. Be it further enacted, That this Act take effect from and after its passage, the public welfare requiring it.

Passed April 5, 1897.

Approved April 30, 1897.

CASE CONSTRUING STATUTES.

Bailey et al. v. Association of Master Plumbers of City of Memphis.

52 S. W. Rep., 853.

Statement.

August 15, 1899.

The association is a corporation organized by a majority of the plumbers in the city of Memphis, Tenn. A by-law was passed whereby each member was required to report in open meeting each week what work he had been doing, and if such work was done in competition with any other member, the member having done the work was to pay the association a fixed sum, according to a schedule agreed upon. Suit is brought to recover $444 from members under this by-law.

Opinion of Supreme Court.

*

"By-laws with such capabilities are clearly obnoxious to the common law, as well as violative of our statutes, which forbid and declare unlawful, null and void 'all trusts, pools, contracts, arrangements, or combinations' * * * that have a tendency to destroy or prevent ‘full and free competition in the production, manufacture or sale of any article of legitimate trade' or that may in any manner 'injuriously affect the legitimate trade and commerce of the country.' Whether these by-laws be regarded as a contract, an arrangement, a combination or a trust, one or all,—and we think they partake of the nature of all of them,-there can be no reasonable doubt that they were intended and well calculated to prevent full and free competition in the purchase and sale of articles of legitimate traffic, to influence the prices thereof, and thereby to injuriously affect trade and commerce within the territory contemplated."

No recovery is allowed.

COMMON-LAW DECISION.

86 Tenn., 598. Statement.

Mallory v. Hanaur Oil Works.

April, 1888.

The Hanaur Oil Works, a corporation, entered into a contract with three other corporations whereby their business of manufacturing cotton-seed oil should all be put into the

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